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E46 (1999 - 2006) The fourth generation 3 Series (E46 chassis) was introduced in 1999 and set the standard for engineering and performance during it's years of production including being named to Car & Driver's 10 best list every one of those years! ! -- View the E46 Wiki

Since it's fully apart, build that thing up for F/I with forged internals

As an old gearhead muscle car guy my instinct is always to build for more power. In this case i'm going back with stock forged rods and will likely drive for a few months or maybe a year and trade up to a M3... The ultimate ultimate driving machine

I think he was referring to "lower-compression pistons", etc., in preparation for a (healthy) FI system where you can run more than 7 or 8 pounds of boost, and actually have the engine live for awhile....that`s the *proper* way to do it....

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The road goes ever onward....
(R.I.P. Jever)

*Please support the Disabled American Veterans*

When faced with choosing between two evils, always go with the one you`ve never tried before....

I'm not very Engine savvy and i'm always interested to learn more about problems that occur and how they happen it teaches me to be careful so I don't find myself footing the repair bills because nobody in my family has ever worked on cars.

I always spot-brazed the oil pickup to its tube to avoid any possible disasters in the future. I`ve filed a few ring gaps as well....used to take care to stagger the gaps around the piston, later on, observed that after a few thousand miles, they always seem to line up over the wristpin anyway....
Viva la Plastiguage !

P.S.: Thanks for sharing....hope it runs like a bat out of Hell

__________________

The road goes ever onward....
(R.I.P. Jever)

*Please support the Disabled American Veterans*

When faced with choosing between two evils, always go with the one you`ve never tried before....

I always spot-brazed the oil pickup to its tube to avoid any possible disasters in the future. I`ve filed a few ring gaps as well....used to take care to stagger the gaps around the piston, later on, observed that after a few thousand miles, they always seem to line up over the wristpin anyway....
Viva la Plastiguage !

P.S.: Thanks for sharing....hope it runs like a bat out of Hell

The "Pro's" say that the proper cross hatching angle when you hone the cylinders will keep the rings from turning. Since I can't seem to replicate their perfect 45 degree pattern... I just stagger the gaps and hope for the best.

I believe in the "Fast and fairly agressive approach", and Dino oil for the first 3000 miles, then switching over to full synthetic for the duration of the engine`s life.
Here`s one of the older "Break-in" threads from this Forum:

The break in procedure I use is.. Start engine, let it idle long enough to warm a little and get lubed up (2-3 minutes), increase and hold rpm's at 2,000-2200 for 10 minutes let it idle down while you check for leaks etc..

Take it for a drive on a nice remote road where you can hold it in gear alternating stiff acceleration and deceleration up to 4500 rpm for about 30 -40 minutes... avoid high rpm's for 500 miles then drive it like you stole it!!

I like the idea of using DINO oil for break in as Bob suggested but if you want to use synthetic oil just increase rpm's and duration for the same results.

I like the idea of using DINO oil for break in as Bob suggested but if you want to use synthetic oil just increase rpm's and duration for the same results.

Synthetic is way too slippery to allow for proper seating of those hard chrome-faced rings....dino allows for the proper amount of "scuffing in". Back in the old days, (like more than 5 or 6 years ago), guys acted like they were amazed when "My car *finally* feels like it`s loosening up at 20,000 miles "(!). They were running the factory synthetic, and those damn rings never seated for all that time. Using dino, combined with a *reasonably* agressive break-in discipline, yields quick & efective results.

__________________

The road goes ever onward....
(R.I.P. Jever)

*Please support the Disabled American Veterans*

When faced with choosing between two evils, always go with the one you`ve never tried before....

I hit a little snag after installing the engine. After the initial startup I noticed it was missing on a couple of cylinders and the cat was glowing red hot... upon trying to restart the engine it would crank but not start, so I ran codes and had cylinder malfunction on 3, 4 and 5 after working some diagnostics it appears that number 4 or 5 injector may have stuck causing the relays in the DME to fry and blowing the fuse for the DME at the same time.

I found and ordered a used replacement Siemens MS43 DME with matching numbers. It will need to be reprogrammed but after checking today there isn't a shop within three hours of here that knows how to reflash the unit and having called the service departments for BMW Austin and Dallas I got the "You will have to bring it to us and we will see..." 3 hrs away...well that ain't gonna happen!

I need some direction on a DIY solution to this problem... What is the protocol for replacing the MS43 controller?

Looks great. Better to have ring gaps a bit bigger than risk breaking a ring when you compress them to assemble (BTDT). I also stagger the ring gaps when reassembling; my machinist claims that so long as the gaps are AWAY from the thrust face of the cylinder wall, and opposite each other, they're fine. Probably going to spin and end up wherever they want anyway.

I've never brazed a pickup screen to the inlet tube; have to add that one to the mental list. Can't add much to the DME issue, might want to fuse it independently (with 5 amps less) on the new one. And I'd be checking the injectors to see what caused the issue in the first place.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Fast Bob

JUST...LOOK...UNDER...THE...CAR....for Chrissakes....it`s like checking to see if a dog is male or female....

Quote:

Originally Posted by smolck

A bimmer with forced induction should have a proper manual gearbox. Anything less is like french kissing your sister.

I'm sending the replacement DME the original EWS and one key off to RPMMotorsports http://www.rmsonlinestore.com for reprogramming... I have checked the injector circuits for defects and can't find anything wrong. My best guess would be that I didn't have one injector making good contact in the loom or an injector hung open but it still seems unlikely that anything other than a direct short would have burned the 30A fuse protecting that circuit.